Academy’S Gumiho Is A Magical Genius [EN]: Chapter 47

Academy Ghost Stories (2)

“This is more intense than I thought. Are ghosts really going to pop out?”

“T-Teacher! How can you say something like that!”

“Haha, Lee Ji. Are you, a man, scared of ghosts?”

“I-It’s not like I’m scared of ghosts or anything.”

I took the lead and started walking.

There was simple security, so I had to authenticate with my assistant instructor ID.

But seriously, this place is perfect for ghost stories.

It’s late at night in the valley, and you can’t hear people, let alone the sounds of wild animals. What’s even stranger is that you can’t even hear the wind.

The only things you can hear are our footsteps and the sound of water falling from the valley.

“It’s really eerie. Yoo-ra, do you know how much further we have to go to get to the rumored place?”

I asked Noh Yoo-ra about the distance.

As expected of a girl in her prime who is active on social media, Yoo-ra answered smoothly.

“Between the gorge and the valley? I think it’s about 20 minutes more.”

“You know it well. You must be interested in the geography of the academy grounds.”

“Well, if I take pictures of these unique things and post them, I can get a lot of attention on social media.”

“……Ah, I see.”

It was hard to sympathize with Yoo-ra’s words.

Maybe it’s because I’ve lived in battlefields far from modern civilization.

I don’t understand people who use social media.

I still don’t know why they waste their time like that.

“What’s with that lukewarm reaction?”

“I just realized that I’m getting old.”

“Assistant Instructor, you’re still young! If you said that in front of my dad, you might get hit.”

I gave Yoo-ra a dismissive response and looked ahead.

I could see the gorge as I passed the valley.

We’re almost there.

I was about to speed up and heighten my senses since we were almost there.

What is this strange feeling?

‘A presence? No, it’s too faint for that.’

I felt traces of a living being nearby.

It’s not from the students, and it’s not a person.

It was too faint to be a human trace.

Even assassins aren’t this subtle.

Maybe it feels more like a shadow.

Here, ‘shadow’ is not a code word for an assassin or a specific group or person. It literally means a shadow.

‘Like a shadow that naturally blends in with the surroundings, following people around.’

Just in case, I opened my mouth.

I murmured in a low, serious tone.

“Everyone, stop.”

“Why are you suddenly telling us to stop……”

“If the Assistant Instructor tells you to stop, there must be a reason. Just stay still.”

“……But why are we stopping?”

Everyone stopped at my words.

Lee Ji questioned the sudden order, but shut his mouth at Noh Yoo-ra’s words. The other students spread artificial senses using their senses or magic power in all directions.

But there was no gain.

I narrowed my eyes sharply and told them to keep going.

However, even while walking, I continued to feel faint traces, and the group stopped several times. It’s good to be thorough, but the students complained about the annoyance as the situation repeated itself even though there was no particular threat.

Especially Lee Ji.

“Teacher, aren’t you being too sensitive? How many times has this been already?”

“……That’s strange. It shouldn’t be like this.”

“There’s no way there are ghosts in the first place. Maybe monsters, but ghosts? What a ridiculous ghost story.”

Lee Ji, who was startled by the leaves or branches that brushed against his neck, crossed his arms and pretended to be tough. It would be fun if a ghost really came out.

Right then, Noh Yoo-ra pointed behind Lee Ji.

“Oh, that branch is shaking?”

“Ha, do you think I’ll fall for that trick again?”

“Hmm, look behind you for real this time.”

As Isis, with an impression as cold as the chill felt on her skin, said that, Lee Ji turned around, thinking he was being tricked again. But the branch was really shaking.

At an abnormal speed.

The cool spring breeze feels strong today, but the wind isn’t strong enough to shake the branches like that.

You couldn’t suspect that someone was using magic on the grounds.

Because we are the only ones here.

As I rolled my eyes, my red pupils turned purple, and I observed the world that had turned black and white. The artificial flow of magic power did not come into view.

This means that the shaking of the branch was not due to the influence of skills or magic, but occurred naturally.

Does this make sense?

At that very moment.

─Thump!

Something fell from above to the ground.

It wasn’t a loud noise, but Lee Ji, who was very nervous, was startled.

“W-What’s that sound……?!”

“……Assistant Instructor, there aren’t really ghosts, are there?”

“Wow, I’m seeing a ghost for the first time! I really want to take a picture!”

At this point, I had a reasonable suspicion that the academy mystery might be a true story. I let out a hollow laugh and murmured.

“……Maybe the academy mysteries are real.”

I’ve been thinking about the word ‘mystery’ for a while now.

Why does Chilseong [Seven Stars Academy], with its perfectionist tendencies, tolerate ambiguous words such as mystery and bizarre?

It’s only been a month since I was appointed here as an assistant instructor, but it was enough to grasp the general tendencies of the people here.

Professors, assistant instructors, security guards. Even the environmental workers.

Everyone at Chilseong felt pride in the fact that they worked and belonged to Chilseong.

Why is everyone like that?

Is it because of the honor of being one of the world’s top 5 academies? Is it because of the sense of duty to lead the player industry in Korea?

If not.

‘Is the basic setting of this world set up like that?’

There was no clear answer.

Nevertheless, if I had to pick one answer.

Chilseong was a world-class educational facility, both subjectively and objectively.

Who else would invest so much in the education of students?

So the pride of the people belonging to this place was very strong.

It was like watching nobles who were loyal to the royal family.

In any case, the professors of Chilseong, like nobles, never tolerate ambiguous situations.

That goes against their tendency to pursue perfection.

The same goes for the 7 mysteries of Chilseong.

As long as the word ‘Chilseong’ is attached to the beginning of the rumors, the professors who are sensitive to perfection would not have stood still.

They would have done anything to dig up the mysteries.

Nevertheless, the mysteries were passed down from the mouths of seniors to the ears of freshmen.

Now, it is not easy to know when the origin of the rumors is.

‘In other words, it means that the professors of Chilseong have not found anything during that long time.’

Maybe it’s just a ghost story that’s not worth uncovering, so no one cares. But based on my gut feeling, that didn’t seem to be the case.

If it was worthless, Nam Hwa-yeon wouldn’t have known about it.

She wouldn’t bother to remember something as trivial as a mystery that has been revealed.

She must be remembering it because there’s something there.

“……There’s something.”

It was right then.

An artificial feeling that those with developed senses could feel.

As I, who was the first to catch it, murmured quietly, the students behind me also sharpened their senses.

“T-Teacher, are you trying to tease me?”

“Hey, would the Assistant Instructor say that just to tease you? And can’t you feel this strange feeling?”

“S-Strange feeling?”

“Shh……. Yoo-ra, be quiet…….”

But not everyone could feel it even if they sharpened their senses.

Lee Ji, who couldn’t feel anything no matter how hard he sharpened his senses with magic power, asked if he was being teased.

Noh Yoo-ra narrowed her eyes sharply at those words.

She was quite disappointed that he had not only dared to doubt the words of the Assistant Instructor, who was like the sky, but also that he had not felt the subtle sense of incongruity.

Most of the students who enter Chilseong are elites from all over the world.

But she couldn’t understand how he couldn’t catch this sense of incongruity.

It wasn’t about looking down on Lee Ji.

It was because she really couldn’t understand.

She, as well as the other students and the magicians Isabel and Isis, seemed to have noticed it.

Noh Yoo-ra was about to say something, but she closed her mouth at Seo Yea-rin’s words.

There was no need to ask why she suddenly called her.

She realized why she called her right away.

The reliable Assistant Instructor who stood at the head of them.

His red eyes sparkled like jewels.

The radiance that flickered even in the darkness like amethyst reflected in the light was quietly illuminating the other side of the bushes.

His sharp eyes seemed to penetrate the other side of the bushes and the surrounding terrain one by one.

Noh Yoo-ra blushed and stared blankly at the sight.

At that very moment.

─Rustle, rustle!

The bushes shook, and the sound of branches being stepped on was heard.

The group, who were very nervous, took out their weapons.

Isis wrapped her hands in cold air, and Seo Yea-rin reached for the spear behind her back.

Seong Yeon-hwa drew her sword from her waist like lightning, and Isabel, with an unpleasant expression, wrapped her body in three colors of light.

Lee Ji was so scared that he was trembling with the hand axe in his hand.

Everyone took out their weapons.

Only Noh Yoo-ra did not touch her weapon.

Her gaze was still fixed on her first love.

She also had selfish intentions to keep seeing the serious face of her beloved, but she was not foolish enough to lose her reason because of her feelings of affection.

However, the Assistant Instructor’s expression was strange.

He wasn’t preparing to fight.

There was no tension or fear at all.

He was just staring at the other side of the bushes with a blank expression, as if wondering why that was there.

It was right after that.

Smack, something burst out of the bushes.

At the same time as it came out, the group took a stance, and Lee Ji screamed.

“Kyaaaaaaak!”

A high-pitched scream that was hard to believe came from a man’s mouth.

Noh Yoo-ra didn’t like Lee Ji.

Lee Ji was the only man in the group, but the girls were all standing still while he was screaming.

Well, she didn’t expect much from him because of his petite physique.

It was disappointing.

However, what truly disappointed Noh Yoo-ra about Lee Ji was his subsequent actions.

Rustle, something that popped out of the bushes revealed its appearance.

Lee Ji reflexively flew backwards, and the group’s eyes, adapted to the late night, looked down at the creature in the bushes.

It was a really unexpected creature.

“……A squirrel?”

“Oh my, how cute. Was it wandering around trying to find food?”

“So the branches were shaking because of the squirrel……?”

A squirrel the size of a palm.

That was the identity of the creature that rustled in the bushes.

The moment they confirmed that, the tension that had been like a taut rubber band was released.

The group scanned the surroundings without letting their guard down.

There was nothing else felt besides the squirrel.

Instead, they witnessed a scene as shocking as a ghost.

“T-Teacher, is the ghost gone?”

“……Hey, what are you doing?!”

Lee Ji, who had flown backwards.

Seo Yea-rin raised her voice when she saw him.

Of course. The moment she saw Lee Ji climbing into Baek Seung-woo’s arms, her brow furrowed.

He was smiling, but it wasn’t a real smile.

Lee Ji was still clinging to his arms like a baby kangaroo, and Baek Seung-woo, who looked back and forth between the squirrel and Lee Ji, said.

“……Get down, you little bastard.”

I’m so disgusted.